Tag: Inspiration

This reblog comes from Momma Meets World where she speaks on asking herself, who she is, who she is as a whole, as a person, as an individual. It struck a cord with me as Mother’s Day is rapidly approaching. As a stay at home mom often times I feel defined by just that, a stay at home mom. And nothing else. I’ve too often felt like there’s a certain shame behind being a ‘stay at home mom.’ As if there’s nothing interesting, nothing exciting, nothing substantial behind the title. I’m not even speaking solely on mom’s, perhaps you’re a single dad, or single mother, or someone going through anything that has a title attached to it that has a negative cognition.

Why has society placed a negative stigma over parents wanting to raise their kids at home?

And why are some stay at home parents – as myself, seeking to put more on their plates then what they already have?

Are we trying to prove something? And to whom?

Truth be told, stay at home moms are not at home eating Dum Dums (lollipops) all day – I know, shocker! In my quest to put my ‘stay at home mom’ title on the side somewhere, I realize I’ve done just that, fill my plate – to the rim. And you can see more here, on the different things I have going on aside from caring for my kids at home. Yes, granted, because of my diagnosis I do these things from home, however they do take up my time nonetheless. Also, I’ve realized that there’s no other title more important to me than that of a parent, of a mother and that of a stay at home mom.

If you’re on this quest to redefine yourself or rediscover yourself, know that your kids don’t see a title, but rather a loving parent.

In your own quest to find yourself, don’t lose who you are for the sake of proving society wrong, or anyone else wrong, do things for yourself, for your family and know that at the end, all will be well.

It’s taken me a very long time to realize that I’ve lost who I am. Who is Monica? A few weeks ago I woke up feeling numb. I’m not sure if I felt sadness, or darkness, or anything for that matter…I just felt blank.

This reblog is from Bereaved Single Dad – blogger and father to a son. As they say, it’s never too late, too late to become educated, to learn, to become aware and to shed light on things that matter to you. Him and I share one thing that’s close and dear to our hearts and that is our sons have been labeled many things, which only means they are extra special.

I recently saw the comedian Amy Schumer’s Netflix special, ‘Growing.’ She opens up on her husbands autism diagnosis. She and her husband – a chef, are expecting their first child. It was also evident that in the midst of a diagnosis we can still find laughter and joy.

“Once he was diagnosed, it dawned on me how funny it was, because all of the characteristics that make it clear that he’s on the spectrum are all of the reasons that I fell madly in love with him,” she says in the ‘Growing’ Netflix special. “That’s the truth. He says whatever is on his mind. He keeps it so real. He doesn’t care about social norms or what you expect him to say or do.”

This reminded me of my son – he says as he sees it, he’s now 9 years old, working hard in school and continues his speech therapy. You can read more on my son’s Autism diagnosis here. When I first heard her speak on the topic it was hard not to feel an overwhelming feeling of hope. The stigma around Autism – as many other diagnosis, is the unknown future. Will he find a special person, a wife, will he have children, a career, etc.? The actress speaking up on her husband’s diagnosis filled me up with both appreciation and hope.

It’s been a ‘on your back’ sort of day. Not just for the pets. First we played football in the garden. Son wasn’t keen on using his boots so I dug out mine as well. As a I put my boots on I warned son that they would be hard to walk with on the […]

I believe you are already aware of this no matter your religious beliefs, on Monday, April 15, 2019 the Notre-Dame de Paris (Our Lady Of Paris) Cathedral experienced a devastating fire. The 850 year old cathedral has been given many different restoration time frames – a professor of medieval cathedrals stating it would take about two decades to complete. It has also been said they will be closing it for about 5 to 6 years following the fire as it has weakened the cathedral. As of today there have been donations pouring in for the restoration, nearly $1 billion dollars.

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The post I share with you today from Trad Cat Fem brings you in great detail the history of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral. I invite you to read as I found it to be so informative, seeing before and after the fire pictures from inside the cathedral, and seeing pictures of the real Crown of Thorns that have been saved from the fire.

As a stay at home mom whom didn’t stay home from the beginning, I must say the transition was rather smooth. I loved my position in the corporate world, but once I had my oldest, my heart yearned to be with her and raise her myself.

I came across this post from Autism Family Powerwhere she mentions coming across an article where a working woman asks, “what do stay at home moms do all day?” The question wasn’t ill intended, but rather out of curiosity.

I chuckled a bit and then had the sudden urge to detail and justify my role at home. However, each of us has different reasons for our decision to stay at home, and the role of a parent that stays in the home is like no other. His/her role comes without a financial earning, without breaks, days off and too often are running on fumes.

However, the internal satisfaction of making sure my kids are taken care of, taking care of my families daily needs and each of my children’s individual needs be it school or otherwise, is beyond any pay check I could ever receive. The ‘tasks/jobs’ are endless, from scheduling doctors appointments, to making sure my son is thriving in school since his autism diagnosis, to potty training – still doing it. The list goes on and on. All the while praying I am doing a good enough job at raising good, compassionate citizens. Also, caring for myself as I have Chiari 1 Malformation – a congenital disorder.

So, if you’re a stay at home parent or not, our goals are all the same. We’re all caring for our homes and our families needs to the best of our abilities, being in the corporate world or not.

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Recently I read an article where a woman asked Stay-At-Home Moms what they did all day. At first I got defensive, but changed my mood. Read more about this, here!

I suspect you already know that with every chronic illness come a few doctors appointments – or many. I had to see my doctor recently as the pain in my neck doesn’t get any better and the medication was running low, so back I went to see my Neurologist. There is a strange thing that happens but with each MRI comes a new result. In reviewing my last MRI on his monitor I noticed a curve on top of my neck in the shape of a letter ‘C’ you could say. But we simply continued talking and moved on. However, I couldn’t stop thinking about it and asked him about it. He said a curve like that is normal say on an 80 year old, but not on someone my age. The two surgeries I’ve had, the first in 2013 and the other on 2017, both have been entered through the back of my neck, so my neck has taken quite a bit. The result, it’s caused the top part of my spine to collapse – hence the letter ‘C’ shape, the other result, pain, the remedy, more medicine. We will try a new medication to manage the pain and come back to revisit the issue. I thanked him for his time and as I’m leaving he says, “hang in there.”

Those simple words have taken over my mind. How many times does something unprecedented happened? And you, “hang in there” or you have absolutely no choice but to do just that?! Aren’t we all doing just that for different reasons, for the sake of your own sanity, because you’re going through a break up, a job loss, marriage issues, financial issues, whatever the case maybe, you’re “hanging in there.”

As anger wanted to creep up inside me, I thought of hope. The word hope. The hope that this will continue to help me gain patience for myself and my body, and hope that I will continue to live life, this new life with much gratitude, the life with physical pain, but life nonetheless.

There have been times when I’ve felt unworthy, unworthy of love – of being loved, unworthy of blessings, of happiness, simply unworthy. And then things happen, time passes and I realize that I too deserve happiness, I too deserve blessings on blessings. I remember that there is no perfect being walking on this earth and that I try. I try my best as a mother, wife, sister and daughter, and that I strive. I strive to be better and do better than I did yesterday. As this lovely post by Happymess Happiness so perfectly in just but a few words put it – ‘Even broken things can be loved.’ Indeed.

It’s rather a bit unsettling to think of the need to cut ties with someone. At times they’re friendships or even a family member. As I continue to grow, I’ve realized what I want, what I will accept and will not tolerate in friendships and overall relationships. I believe this to be an internal battle also because I was taught to love thy neighbor, to accept people as they are, and to love in the dimension of the cross. But what happens when others no longer serve a positive purpose in my life, when they no longer lift me, but rather break me. Please, don’t get me wrong, I absolutely believe we will have our moments with others when we will disagree, and we’ll forgive one another and move on. But what if this is recurring and happening constantly?! What if I consider myself a good friend and yet have come to realize a friendship in my life isn’t reciprocating the same level of love and respect for our friendship. You know, that one sided friendship, do you cut ties, do you call it quits or do you continue to accept their behavior?!

This week I bring you this wonderful post on the matter by the very talented Dr. Perry over at Make It Ultra. He lists a few suggestions he uses in his practice on how to create healthy boundaries with others. He first mentions to be honest with the other person about your feelings, not adding to the negativity and not fearing the loss of a relationship that just feeds you negativity. If you haven’t read the full post, please stop by his blog!

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Written by Dr. Perry, PhD Image Credit: Pixabay “People inspire you or they drain you. Pick them wisely.” ~Hans F. Hansen We all know at least one person who seems to walk around in a state of doom and gloom. They are in short supply of joy but have an overabundance of negativity. This individual may […]